There has been a flurry of press coverage hailing Los Angeles as the new capital of the art world.  From Lauren A.E. Shuker’s article,”The L.A. Art Boom,” in The Wall Street Journal to Elizabeth Khuri Chandler’s article in C magazine, “Art on the Move,” the word on the street is that after decades of setting the stage, Los Angeles has reached the perfect storm of blue-chip artists, collectors, galleries, and institutions.

Here is a cheat sheet of why the L.A. art world is so hot right now:

– High-profile New York gallerist Jeffrey Deitch is now Director of MOCA

– The new Renzo Piano designed Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion at LACMA

– L & M Arts and Matthew Marks Gallery have opened Los Angeles branches

– Critical mass of important MFA programs at UCLA, USC, Pasadena’s Art Center, and Otis College of Art and Design

– Los Angeles is a center of artistic production with  a vibrant community of established international artists including John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, Mike Kelley, Doug Aitken, Charles Ray, Martin Kersels, the list goes on…

– Museum boards are being reinvigorated with new members from the entertainment and tech sectors

– Pacific Standard Time, opening in October 2011, is slated to be one of the largest collaborative art institution undertakings of all time, including commercial galleries, museums, non-profit spaces, and a public art festival component.

Click here to see the Wall Street Journals‘ interactive map of some of L.A.’s hottest art spots.

Click here to see a slideshow of “Heavy Hitters in L.A.’s Art World” on the Huffington Post.